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School leaders from districts across the nation on Tuesday attended Indiana’s first-ever State Education Chief Roundtable on school safety. Held during the 2018 Indiana Advanced School Safety Specialist Academy, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) invited representatives from all 50 states and U.S. territories in an effort to extend the national discussion on school safety and share best practices. Looking to further safety discussions through collaboration and partnership, this State Education Chief Roundtable is anticipated to be the first of many national collaborative discussions on school safety. For more information on Indiana’s commitment to school safety or to learn more

Valparaiso Police are investigating a vandalism that occurred in Central Park in downtown Valparaiso on May 4th. Numerous landscaping lights were damaged in the park. The male subject (wearing a maroon shirt) is a person of interest and police are seeking the male subject's identiity. Anybody with information regarding the male subject is asked to call the Valparaiso Police Department at (219) 462-2135 (Detective Jason Hamilton) or text a tip to Tip411 (847-411) and enter "Valpo" in the message field prior to sending your information. Check out the WIMS Facebook page for photos.

U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday, calling for action to protect the hundreds of thousands of workers and retirees across the country at risk of losing the pensions they earned through decades of work. Donnelly highlighted the stories of a number of Hoosiers who would be harmed by pension cuts. According to a press release, without congressional action, the nearly 150 multiemployer pension plans listed by the U.S. Department of Labor as in “critical or endangered status” could fail, potentially leading to the collapse of the federal pension insurance program, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. This

. Nine adults were injured in a five vehicle crash that occurred when water from a heavy rain pour covered parts of I-80/94. Preliminary investigation revealed,just after 11:30 p.m., Monday, a Chevrolet Tahoe hydroplaned in the left lane of I-80/94 east bound at the 27 mile marker (this is one mile east of the Chesterton exit). The left lane was completely covered in water due to the heavy downpour of rain. This caused the Tahoe to crash head on into the concrete median wall. The Tahoe came to an uncontrolled rest facing north. It was then sideswiped in

Shortly after 10:00 a.m. Monday morning, a Mishawaka school bus driven by 65 year old Albert Nagy was in the left northbound lane of Main Street in front of John Young Middle School in Mishawaka. Mr. Nagy intended to turn left at the light on Omer to get to the middle school. A Ford Taurus driven by 28 year old Derek Morris of Mishawaka, was travelling southbound on Main Street. Witnesses told investigators that the Taurus crossed the center line, striking the bus. Mr. Morris was pronounced deceased at the scene. There were two students on the bus at the

Paul Tobalt, a 2014 graduate of Michigan City High School (MCHS), and four year Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) cadet, was sworn in as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps at Purdue University in West Lafayette on May 11th. Tobalt attended Purdue on the Navy/Marine ROTC scholarship. That scholarship is worth $180,000 in educational benefits. Tobalt’s first duty station will be Quantico, VA, 40 miles south of Washington, DC. He will attend The Basic School (TBS) there, which is where all Marine officers, regardless of their military occupational specialty (MOS) or job, attend. He

NIPSCO has announced the opening of a request for proposals (RFP) to consider a combination of potential resources to meet the future electric needs of its customers. The need for the future electric capacity follows the projection made by the company in its last Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to retire 50 percent of its coal-fired electric generation by 2023, with its Bailly Generating Station on track to retire by the end of May 2018. NIPSCO is considering all sources in the RFP process in conjunction with the company’s 2018 IRP. The IRP process involves several months of analysis, public meetings

Governor Eric Holcomb is directing flags across the state to be flown at half-staff for Peace Officers Memorial Day. Flags should be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset today (Tuesday). Gov. Holcomb also asks businesses and residents across Indiana to lower their flags to half-staff.

The Indiana State Police were called by the Porter County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) Monday morning to investigate an officer involved shooting that involved one of their officers. At approximately 1:16 a.m., a deputy with the PCSD was going to a call in the area of U.S. 6 and 200 West when he clocked a motorcycle on U.S, 6 doing 80 miles-per hour. The officer attempted to make a traffic stop on the motorcycle who took off. The officer (in a fully marked Ford Explorer county police car) pursued the orange Kawasaki “sport” motorcycle from U.S. 6 to State Road 149

The Mobile Health Unit of La Porte Hospital will be out in the community throughout May to provide bone density screenings and to educate on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease. Come and visit the Mobile Health Unit to learn more about these two important topics. The Mobile Health Unit program has been made possible by the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte. Upcoming Dates and times of the Mobile Health Unit visits are: 1 -2:00 p.m., May 16, Kabelin’s, 512 Andrew Ave, La Porte

The second of two Healthcare Foundation of La Porte grant cycles in 2018 will open today. Organizations seeking grant funding for projects related to the health and wellness of La Porte residents are encouraged to apply. Proposals are due by June 29 at midnight for consideration. Priority will be given to evidence-based projects that encourage collaboration between community organizations. Organizations can visit hflaporte.org/grants to learn more. HFL only accepts applications through their Grant Portal, a link to which can be found on the HFL website. Applications sent by any other means will not be reviewed. Proposals requesting funding of more

The United Way of LaPorte County announced its new annual gala SEEDS OF IMPACT will be held on Sunday, May 20 from 1-4 PM CST at Friendship Botanic Gardens. Set in the beautiful Chinese Bridge Garden of the Friendship Botanic Gardens in Michigan City, SEEDS OF IMPACT will delight guests with a concert performance by internationally renowned jazz and funk bassist Dwayne Dolphin, showcasing his signature sound and exceptional showmanship in this up close and personal performance. Tickets are $75 per person. For more information visit: unitedwaylpc.org/seedsofimpact

U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski congratulated Hannah DeSchepper, a Penn High School junior, on winning the 2018 Congressional Art Competition for Indiana’s 2nd District on Saturday. DeSchepper’s winning artwork, “Kehinde Kahlo,” will hang in the U.S. Capitol for the next year alongside other winners from across the country. “Congratulations to Hannah on this exciting achievement!” Congresswoman Walorski said. “Visitors at the Capitol will be able to see her passion and creativity with her artwork on display for the next year. I want to thank all the talented young Hoosier artists who entered this year’s Congressional Art Competition – it’s always a privilege to

Late last month, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office began a child pornography investigation. A Deputy within the Patrol Division was provided the initial information. Immediately following, Sheriff’s Office Detectives began to actively work and follow-up on the case. A suspect, 36 year old Rusty D. Reuille, was quickly identified. As a result of the investigation, a criminal arrest warrant was issued for Reuille on May 3rd. The criminal arrest warrant for Reuille was for the following charges: two counts of Felony Child Molestation, two counts of Felony Promotion Of Human Trafficking Of A Minor, one count of Felony Child

On May 12th at approximately 10:45 p.m., Trooper Nicholas Price stopped a white 2005 Chrysler 300 on I-65 at the 260 mile marker for a minor traffic offense.  During the traffic stop, the driver, later identified as Tabitha S. Fidanza, 37, of Michigan City Indiana, refused to identify herself and initially gave her sister's information as her own.  Additional units were called to the scene and Gary Police Department responded.  During the investigation, Fidanza was asked to exit the vehicle but rather then comply, she fled the scene in her vehicle, striking a Gary police officer.  The officer that was

The Greenways Foundation of Indiana is pleased to announce that nominations for the 2018 Indiana Greenways Awards are now open to the public. These awards are presented to those individuals, organizations, communities, corporations and projects that have exhibited outstanding excellence in advancing greenways or multi-use trail development throughout Indiana.

Governor Eric J. Holcomb joined leadership of Cybertech, one of the world’s largest cybersecurity conferences, in Tel Aviv, Israel, as they announced plans to host the inaugural Cybertech Midwest event in Indianapolis, Indiana this fall. Israel is a global leader in cybersecurity, accounting for approximately 10 percent of the world's GDP related to cyber technology. Cybertech was started in Tel Aviv and it remains its largest summit, attracting more than 15,000 attendees in 2018. The conference has expanded globally, hosting events in Tokyo, Singapore, Panama and Rome, and will now hold its first summit in the Midwest, attracting international industry

Michigan City Area Schools has announced plans to participate in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Free meals will be made available to all children 18 years of age and under and to persons over 18 years who are enrolled in a state-approved educational program for the mentally or physically disabled. Free meals will be provided to all children without charge and are the same for all children. There will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. For further information and a list of enrolled sites contact Cindy Licciardone, Director of Food Service Operations, at (219) 873-2131,

An Armed Robbery occurred at approximately 6 p.m. at the Check Into Cash business in the Portage Commons (Business complex located on the northwest corner of U.S. Hwy 6 / Willowcreek Road). Suspect vehicle is believed to be a black Chevy Trailblazer and the suspect is a black male wearing dark colored clothing. Our officers are canvassing the area for leads and processing the scene. There were no injuries and we do not believe the vehicle to still be in the area. If you were at the Portage Commons at or around 6pm please contact Captain Joe Reynolds at 764-5704.

Purdue University Northwest’s (PNW) College of Technology will offer free cybersecurity summer camps for high school teachers and students from northwest Indiana, southwest Michigan and the Chicago metropolitan area through a $194,010 grant, jointly funded by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). This is the third consecutive year PNW has received the grant for the summer programs. Two week-long sessions for high school students are slated for 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., June 11 - 15 and June 18 - 22 at PNW’s Hammond Campus. One session for high school teachers is scheduled for 9